Walk The Line

London's first sculpture walk

The Line is London’s first sculpture walk established by art dealer Megan Piper and the late urban regeneration expert Clive Dutton OBE. The outdoor exhibition of sculptures takes place along the waterways of East London (one of London’s best kept secrets) and takes around three hours to complete. It features modern and contemporary art – many that have been hidden from public view between Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and The Greenwich Meridian.

Here by Jon Thomson and Alison Craighead is in fact located on the Greenwich Meridian (zero degrees longitude and the starting point of every time zone in the world) and marks the 24,859 mile distance around the earth and back.

Many of the large-scale pieces, such as Liberty Grip by Gary Hume is sited in such a way to encourage viewers to engage with the art. This bronze sculpture is based on the arm of a store mannequin and even includes pink at the end of each limb.

While others like Quantum Cloud by Anthony Gormley can only be viewed at a distance either on the foot path or from the Emirates Air-Line above.

In case you are wondering just what you are looking at, the pieces are all well-marked and labelled.  For example, Abigail Fallis' DNA DL90 is a monumental arrangement of shopping trolleys* fashioned into a DNA double-helix sculpture and alludes to how consumer culture has become part of one's genetic makeup.

There is also a handy online map and directions making it easy to start and finish from multiple points depending on what your time allows.

The Line is on track to become a world class sculpture walk (or cycle) to enjoy – a far cry from the pirate corpses that once hung in cages as a warning to criminals!

www.the-line.org

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